TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — When a committee meets next month to decide on changes to the minimum wage for 2024, it should agree on an increase of at least 2% due to inflation, experts said Wednesday (Aug. 23).

The Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Tuesday (Aug. 23) it had sent invitations for the Basic Wage Committee to meet Sept. 8. The group consists of academics and representatives of business groups, labor organizations, and government.

Since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in 2016, each year has seen a minimum salary hike. The most recent increase took the monthly wage to NT$26,400 (US$827) and the minimum hourly wage to NT$176.

While employers often resist any hike at all, this year looked different because of inflation staying above 2%. A wage hike of up to 3% was acceptable because it would help relieve job shortages in the services sector, said General Chamber of Commerce Chair Paul Hsu (許舒博), per CNA.

However, Third Wednesday Club Chair Lin Por-fong (林伯豐) set 2% as the maximum because of the weakening economy. Government departments and private think tanks cut their forecasts for Taiwan’s economic growth in 2023 to less than 2% as sluggish global demand cut into exports.

Economists predicted a wage hike ranging from 2.1% to 3% due to inflation, though representatives of the manufacturing and technology sectors were likely to argue in favor of a more modest rise due to their sluggish performance this year.

Chinese Culture University labor expert Lee Chien-hung (李健鴻) said the condition of services and high-tech sectors was completely different during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, services are flourishing, while technology has to cope with weak demand and large inventories, he said.

However, as even tech firms predict their situation will pick up during the final quarter of 2023, there should be room for a higher minimum wage increase to benefit the lowest paid workers, Lee told CNA.